Speaking on A.R. Rahman's two Oscars, Gulzar said: "It's like the song I wrote
for Guru for him - 'Ek lo ek muft'. He got one Oscar and then the other one was
a bonus. Happily, I'm part of the second one."
Gulzar was not in Los Angeles when the double Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire
including one for a song "Jai ho" written by the poet-extraordinaire was
announced Sunday.
In fact, he wasn't even watching the Oscars when the Oscar for Jai ho was
announced.
"Forget about me. I feel very proud of Rahman -- always have, always will. I
think Rahman brought a change to Indian film songs. He gave a new form to the
film song. This recognition at the Oscars proves that he has made a world of
difference to the Hindi film song. Otherwise classical Indian music was always
known globally even before the film songs."
Gulzar reminisced on Rahman and said: "I started noticing his path-breaking
tendency when he did his first score with me in Dil Se. But even before that he
was doing pioneering work.
"When I heard the announcement for his first Oscar, I got a lump in my throat.
It was enough for me. I got up and left the room. I didn't know my song 'Jai
ho' won the Oscar. My son-in-law Govind came and hugged me and said, 'It's won
a double Oscar - one for your song.'"
Gulzar feels the double Oscar is a benchmark for our cinema. "It makes Indian
cinema a part of world cinema, just like there are Asian awards that make us
part of Asian cinema. Oscars certainly put us under a global gaze. Since the
Oscars are American, our Indian films never before went into mainstream
categories. Slumdog Millionaire has opened up doors for our cinema."
Gulzar is also very proud of Resul Pookutty who won an Oscar for sound mixing
in the Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches drama Slumdog Millionaire
"Rahman's Oscar we all expected. I'm happy to be part of his second Oscar. But
Resul's recognition is a breakthrough for all technicians in Indian cinema."
Gulzar would also like make mention of Sukhwinder singh who sang the
Oscar-winning song Jai ho. "No one else is mentioning him. He's an integral
part of Jai ho. Of course Rahman is the most important part of the song. But
after that Sukhwinder and I are also important components in the song," he said.
....SAJIN_MOHAN...
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